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Baal'Ken
Ursus Sapiens Minoris Physical Description: ' '''Baal'Ken are bipedal ursidae, descended from the top predator of their homeworld, which grew to dominance after exterminating the other sub-species in their family, especially the much larger and more aggressive ''Ursus Sapiens Majoris. ''They have the same general shape as most sentient creatures in the Known Universe, but rather than a flat face, they have a more animalistic snout which combines their mouth and their nose. Baal'Ken's entire body is covered in a thin fur, which is longer and more rough on the top of their head, hands and feet. While traditional Baal'Ken generally did not wear shoes or boots, much preferring sandals-like footwear, with the advent of the space age, many of them carefully shave the top of their feet so they can fit in boots. Furs are generally a single colour all the way through, ranging from white to black, with common colours being varying degrees of brown, red and greenish hues. Some unusual specimens do show different patterns of fur, from swirls to lines. This trend appears to have expanded since the Baal'Ken have begun space exploration. They do not have specialized eyesight like many of the Feyborn species, and their eyes always range from brown to black. '''Society:' ' '''Baal'Ken live in large organizations called Hordes, now under the control of the Supreme Khan after the failed Protectorate invasion. The first Supreme Khan was the general which organized the scattered Hordes against the invader, and the selection of the next Khan is done in a very traditional way, by trial by combat. While those trials were fights to the death in the past, they nowadays are generally stopped after a pin-fall or submission. Hordes were generally nomadic entities at the time, travelling with large herds of various animals which were used as mounts, food or source of fibers for clothing or milk. Sedentary groups formed small settlements throughout the planet where agriculture was practiced and more advanced production was done once the industrial revolution altered the landscape of the Baal'Ken homeworld. While there used to be a very distinct difference in the society of the sedentary groups and the traveling hordes, those have become less and less relevant over the years since the invasion and the Baal'Ken joining the ranks of the space traveling species. Nomadic Baal'Ken used to be polygamous and polyandrous, while sedentary ones were strictly monogamous, but nowadays, the trend seems to be towards monogamous relations where the couple are selected by the leaders of the Horde, personal feelings are generally ignored for political alliances. While not strictly carnivorous, every Baal'Ken meals has to feature a piece of meat (generally roasted or fried). Fish is seen as an acceptable substitute for those of the lower classes or those of sedentary origin. Vegetables and fruits are generally served fresh, but with the introduction of bread by the Terrans, flatbreads are also often served with meals. Baal'Ken dislike anything spicy as the norm, and are confused by the sweetness of Elven cuisine or the spiciness of Terran cuisine. '''Relations:' ' '''The Baal'Ken are considered one of the Client Race of the Royal Elven Union, but like the Terrans, they have far more liberty than most would believe Client Races are allowed. Unlike Terrans, the Baal'Ken only recently started on a space program of their own, most of their ships being purchased from dwarven foundries affiliated with the Union or directly from the Royals, but they have begun building their own ships to keep up with the necessities of mercenary work, which is what most of the Baal'Ken are known for. While the majority of the Hordes end up serving the Union, a few have been known to favour work for the Star Empire and contract work for the Terran Confederacy is extremely frequent. Being the second invasion that failed for the Protectorate, the Baal'Ken enjoy very tense relations with both the Hu and the Protectorate, with border skirmishes and all out battles being frequent enough. '''Adventurers:' Many Baal'Ken sign on to become mercenaries as part of their particular Horde, which leads many of them to live high flying lives throughout the Known Universe. Some of them adopt more traditional roles, becoming cattle drivers and herders, but the romancing of that role in many Terran movies as driven many Baal'Ken to also become improvised lawmen after watching one too many “cowboy flick”. More intellectual careers are not unusual among the Baal'Ken, even if they have that “honor-bound warrior race” reputation amongst many of the other species, and scientists and explorers serve their Horde as scout and prepare new land for settling, finding new animals to herd and feed upon. Standard Racial Traits: Size and Type: Baal'Ken are medium humanoid with the Baal'Ken sub-type. Ability Score modifier: Baal'Ken are rather bulky and emotive, but not extremely agile for their size. They gain a +2 to Constitution and Charisma, but a -2 to Dexterity. Cattle Rustler: Baal'Ken are natural beast riders and survivalists. You always consider Survival as a Class skill and gain 1 Skill point in it every level. If you are using One time skill selection optional rule, you are proficient in that skill instead, and it is considered a Class skill. Natural Weapons: Baal'Ken are always considered armed. They can deal 1d3 lethal damage with unarmed strikes and the attack doesn’t count as archaic. They also gain a unique weapon specialization with their natural weapons at 3rd level, allowing them to add 1–1/2 × their character level to their damage rolls for their natural weapons (instead of just adding their character level, as usual). Natural Resistance: Baal'Ken are naturally tougher than most other races. Choose one of the following feat as a bonus feat at level 1: Diehard, Great Fortitude, Improved Unarmed Attack or Toughness. Roleplaying a Baal'Ken To humans, Baal'ken are generally seen as ruthless and very efficient warriors, avid sportsmen, big eaters (that can't handle spice) and fun-loving to the extreme. Many humans would consider a lot of what Baal'ken would do as reckless, mainly because their tolerance to pain and physical strength is generally higher. People often mistake the Baal'Ken as if they would be the "proud warrior race", but the fact of the matter is that a sizeable portion of their species is non-military, but have a intrinsic love of competition and physical altercations, especially their traditional form of wrestling, the Baal'Kadar. There are other forms of martial arts practised by the Baal'Ken, but most outsiders would generally view them as similar. They are seen as boorish and uncultured by most elves, as they do not enjoy painting, sculpture and most high, crafted art. They enjoy music to a great degree, especially singing, which is sometimes seen as strange as they much prefer guttural sounds and prefer throat singing over melodic singing. While they had their own form of cinema, many of them have come to enjoy the simplicity of "action movies" from Earth, especially westerns and police movies, with clear cut good and bad guys. Baal'Ken adaptations of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and "Dirty Harry" have won multiple awards and were exported to Terra and both Elven territories and gained massive following. Nicknames Bears (all races that have had contact with any species of the Ursus genera), Fuzzies, Cowboy, Da Bears (in reference to the species itself), Ditkas.Category:Baal'Ken Category:Baal'Ken Hordes Category:Races